"PhD student at the Earth Science Group"

Are you our new colleague?

Are you an ambitious and highly motivated student with a strong interest in aerosol–cloud–climate interactions and experience in the interpretation of atmospheric (satellite) data and climate modeling? Then you are the person we are looking for.

You and SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

Your work at SRON will enable a better observational quantification of the effective radiative forcing due to aerosol–cloud interactions. You will make use of satellite observations and climate modeling. The NASA PACE mission (launched in February 2024) with onboard the SPEXone and HARP2 instruments will play an important role. SPEXone is being developed by a Dutch consortium consisting of SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) and Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands (Airbus DS NL). The scientific lead is in the hands of SRON.

Your position and team

You will be part of the aerosol–cloud research line in the Earth Science Group (ESG) of SRON. The ESG consists of approximately 35 scientists (permanent, postdocs, PhD students) that work on the data processing and interpretation of satellite instruments as well as the definition of new instrumentation and guiding the development. About 8-10 scientists work in the aerosol-cloud research line on retrieval algorithm development, data assimilation, and quantification of aerosol radiative forcing from satellites and climate models.

Your project

Aerosol–cloud interactions (ACI) contribute most to the uncertainty in total anthropogenic forcing of the climate system. A reliable ACI estimate from observations is urgently needed to constrain climate models and enable better climate predictions. However, satellite-based estimates of ACI are subject to many uncertainties, such as the difficulty in identifying cloud-active aerosol and its anthropogenic perturbation, the cloud regime dependency of ACI, and satellite retrieval biases, which are rarely considered simultaneously in current estimates. Your project is to quantify and constrain all those uncertainties, with a focus on liquid clouds, by integrating diverse satellite and reanalysis datasets with targeted synthetic experiments using the ICON-A-HAM climate model. In combination with novel satellite retrievals from recently launched PACE and EarthCARE missions, your work will provide ‘optimal’ observational estimates of ACI and its forcing. These estimates will be used to evaluate and benchmark current climate models.

You will collaborate within a team of experts specializing in aerosol-cloud-climate modeling and observations, which offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in satellite data analysis and climate modeling. You will present your work at scientific conferences and publish your work in scientific peer reviewed journals.

Position requirements

The qualified applicant should have a MSc degree in (atmospheric) physics or similar with strong foundation in programming (preferably Fortran and Python). Experience in aerosol-cloud-climate modeling and/or machine leaning and knowledge on aerosol-cloud interactions would be an asset. Good English language skills (speaking and writing) and the ability to both work in a team and independently are a no-brainer for us.

What we offer

The position we offer at SRON is a full-time position in which you will be employed by NWO-I (The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research Institutes) and will initially be for a period of 18 months. This will be extended to 4 years when your performance evaluation after 9 months is satisfactory. The salary will be in accordance with the salary scales of NWO-I, starting at €2.968,- in the first year and rising to €3.801,- in the fourth year of employment. Compensation for commuting expenses will be provided.

NWO has good secondary employment conditions such as:

• An end of year bonus of 8,33% of the gross yearly salary;
• A holiday allowance of 8% of the gross yearly salary;
• 42 days of vacation leave a year on full-time basis;
• An excellent pension scheme;
• Options for (additional) personal development;
• Excellent facilities for parental leave;
• Ample training opportunities;
• Possibility of flexible working hours;

Why SRON

SRON’s mission is to achieve breakthroughs in international scientific research from space. To this end, SRON develops groundbreaking technology and advanced space instruments. SRON promotes societal applications for space technology. We have a strong international reputation as ‘excellent in space research’. The quality and societal relevance of our science is considered ‘world-leading’.

About SRON

SRON is the Netherlands Institute for Space Research. Based at locations in Leiden and Groningen, SRON combines fundamental scientific research, technology innovation, and instrumentation development to enable breakthroughs in astrophysics, exoplanet research, and earth atmospheric research from space. In partnership with leading international partners and space agencies such as ESA, NASA and JAXA, SRON provides scientific and technological contributions to international space missions as well as expertise and support to the Dutch and international scientific communities.

SRON is the national base for the Netherlands participation in the ESA science program. On the national level, it works in close collaboration with the Dutch universities, other NWO institutes, and governmental agencies to pursue a cohesive agenda for space-based research.

For more information, please contact

More information about SRON can be found at www.sron.nl.

For further information about the content of the position, please contact dr. Hailing Jia (h.jia@sron.nl).